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Isotope Technologies Munich (ITM), a German radiopharmaceutical firm, and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) are forming a joint venture for the industrial-scale production of actinium-225 (²²⁵Ac). The rare, α-emitting medical radioisotope is of interest as a precision oncology therapy. The venture, Actineer, plans to build a dedicated actinium production facility in an unspecified location. It will begin supplying ²²⁵Ac in the interim; CNL will provide starting material for irradiation at its laboratory in Chalk River, Ontario, and ITM will process the resulting ²²⁵Ac to pharmaceutical-grade material. CNL operates a national laboratory at Chalk River on behalf of Atomic Energy of Canada.

Scientists need to redraw their diagrams of Mars’s interior structure, according to two studies published this week. Based on analysis of seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander, both teams conclude that Mars’s liquid iron core is smaller than previously thought and is enveloped by a 150-kilometer-​thick layer of molten silicate that scientists had not previously observed (Nature 2023, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06586-4 and DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06601-8).

Research published in Science in 2021 provided the first sweeping seismic analysis of Mars, using data from InSight. That work overestimated the size of the planet’s core by about 30%, says Henri Samuel, a scientist at the French National Center for Scientific Research who was involved in the 2021 research and its recent revision. “This proves that we need to change our minds sometimes,” he says.

Seismologists can infer the structure of a planet based on how pressure and shear waves move through it. Pressure waves can propagate through both solids and liquids, while shear waves can’t travel through liquid—they get reflected. In the 2021 research, scientists believed they saw a shear wave that bounced off a liquid surface in the middle of the planet. They assumed this indicated the boundary between the liquid iron core and the solid silicate mantle. They concluded the core was larger and less dense than others had previously estimated.

A core with those properties would have to contain a relatively high proportion of lighter elements like hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and carbon along with iron and nickel. But that recipe seemed unlikely, given the volatility of those light elements and prevailing conditions when Mars formed. “Cosmochemists were saying, ‘that can’t be,’” says Suzan van der Lee, a seismologist at Northwestern University who was not involved with the research.

For the current studies, researchers analyzed tens of additional seismic events caused by meteor impacts and quakes, including a key event where a pressure wave slowed down in a way that suggested it was passing through molten rather than solid silicate. Working independently, both research teams concluded that the core is a relatively dense ball of liquid iron enveloped in a layer of molten silicate—eliminating the light-element problem.

To interpret the waves and what they mean about the layers of Mars, Samuel’s team used experimental data about materials such as iron alloys at extreme conditions; another team of planetary scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, relied on simulations of these material properties. The two teams’ predictions about the light element composition of Mars’s core vary a bit. ETH Zurich planetary scientist Paolo Sossi says more data about material properties at high temperatures and pressures should help resolve this. Overall, Sossi says, the teams reached very similar conclusions, which suggests “how robust this discovery is.”

Van der Lee says not to expect new data about Mars quakes anytime soon. InSight officially powered down in December 2022. But she expects other teams will continue to mine data from the lander, verifying and expanding on these results.

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Sumitomo Chemical has begun building a pilot plant in Chiba, Japan, that will produce propylene directly from ethanol via a new process. Existing approaches involve multiple intermediates, the firm says. Most propylene is now made from fossil resources, whereas ethanol can be produced from biomass such as sugarcane. Methods of making ethanol from waste plastics or carbon dioxide are being developed, Sumitomo says. The company already makes ethylene from ethanol in a pilot plant in Chiba.

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Merger and acquisition activity in the lithium industry is moving at a brisk pace. Azure Minerals, which is developing a lithium mine in Australia, has accepted a takeover bid from Chile’s SQM that values Azure at more than $1 billion. The deal requires 75% shareholder approval. In July, Azure rejected a $585 million bid from SQM, which is the company’s largest shareholder with a roughly 20% stake. SQM has also made smaller investments in early-stage lithium miners. It recently agreed to buy a minority stake in Pirra Lithium and is financing exploration activities for Dart Mining in return for equity interest. In addition, Chile’s state-owned mining company, Codelco, will acquire Lithium Power International in a deal worth $244 million. Lithium Power is developing a lithium mine in Chile’s Maricunga salt flat. These acquisition moves follow the recent collapse of Albemarle’s offer to acquire Liontown Resources in a $4.3 billion deal. Other recent deals include Mineral Resources’ acquisition of the Bald Hill mine in Australia and Develop Global’s plan to buy the lithium miner Essential Metals.

In the first time the regulator has acted against an active pharmaceutical ingredient cartel, the European Commission has fined five companies for price-fixing for the antispasmodic butylscopolamine. Alkaloids of Australia, Alkaloids Corporation, Boehringer Ingelheim, Linnea, and Transo-Pharm will have to pay a total of $14.2 million. A sixth firm, C² Pharma, was not fined because it revealed the price-fixing to the commission. All six admitted their involvement and agreed to settle the case. A seventh firm, Alchem, did not settle; the investigation in that case is ongoing.

Daiichi Sankyo and Merck & Co. have signed a commercialization agreement for three of Daiichi Sankyo’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates. The three ADCs—patritumab deruxtecan, ifinatamab deruxtecan, and raludotatug deruxtecan—are in various stages of clinical development for the treatment of multiple solid tumors as monotherapies or in combination with other treatments. The partners would jointly commercialize resulting therapies worldwide, except in Japan, where Daiichi Sankyo would be solely responsible for manufacture and supply. Merck will pay Daiichi $4 billion up front under terms of the agreement.

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